Michael Gandolfini, the 19-year-old son of the late James Gandolfini, has been cast to play a young Tony Soprano in the upcoming prequel film The Many Saints of Newark. The film is set during the Newark race riots of the 1960s and is currently in development.
In a statement, Michael Gandolfini expressed his excitement, saying: 'It's a profound honour to continue my dad's legacy.' James Gandolfini, who died in 2013 at age 51, portrayed the iconic mob boss Tony Soprano in six seasons of the hit HBO series The Sopranos, which aired from 1999 to 2007.
The film will also star Vera Farmiga, Alessandro Nivola, and Jon Bernthal. Alan Taylor, who directed nine episodes of The Sopranos as well as films such as Thor: The Dark World and Terminator Genisys, will direct. The script was written by series creator David Chase alongside Lawrence Conner, who wrote three episodes of the original series.
Michael Gandolfini previously appeared as Joey Dwyer in HBO's The Deuce and had a small role in Ocean's Eight. He was born in 1999 to James Gandolfini and his first wife, Marcy. The elder Gandolfini later had another child with his second wife, former actress Deborah Lin.
Michael is not the first child of an actor to take on a role made famous by a parent. Notable examples include Jason Connery playing Robin Hood, Rachael Stirling in Theatre of Blood, Mamie Gummer in Evening, Annie Starke in The Wife, Emilio Estevez in The West Wing, and O'Shea Jackson Jr in Straight Outta Compton.
